CES 2014: Razer’s Adaro Line of Headphones Cater to the Discerning Music Listener

Years ago, most people knew of Razer as being the maker of gaming mice and other peripherals. Today, the company’s product-lines are all over the place – but that’s not a bad thing. Despite its broad focus, Razer continues to release compelling products, and that couldn’t be more true on the audio side of things. In 2008, the company blew us away with its 2.1 Mako speaker set – that helped prove that it could build audio just as good as the established professionals.

Well, while Razer continues to cater to gamers looking for audio solutions at all price-ranges, it has a bit of a different focus with its just-announced Adaro series. With Adaro, Razer targets music-lovers who don’t want to skimp on either aural or hardware quality.

Adaro launches with four different models; let’s tackle the basics:

The biggest thing that might stand-out about the “In-ear” Adaros is their flat green cable, but past that, the precision-milled aircraft aluminium-grade housing helps bolster their durability. Each earphone has a custom-tuned 10mm neodymium driver, and to assure a custom fit, each pair includes ear tips in three different sizes. These in-ears are set to release for $79.99 USD.

Next up, there’s the Adaro “Stereo Analog” headphones. These bolster 40mm neodymium drivers, a light, comfortable form-factor, leatherette ear cushions, a braided cable, and, as far as I’m concerned, attractive styling. Razer designed these headphones to be very portable, so they could be an ideal choice for those who are on-the-go a lot and don’t want to risk taking their more expensive pair. These headphones are priced at $99.99 USD.

Of all the Adaro models, the one that has me most interested is the “Wireless Bluetooth”, because, quite frankly, most wireless solutions are horrible. With Bluetooth 4.0 and “aptX” codec support, these headphones promise “pristine” audio quality with low power-draw – 20 hours can be expected. Like the Analog Stereo headphones, these ones use the same 40mm neodymium drivers and leatherette ear cushions. These headphones are being priced at $149.99 USD.

Finally, there’s “DJ Analog”, which is the cream of the Adaro crop. More powerful 50mm drivers are implemented here, tweaked to be sonically balanced, able to offer natural-sounding acoustics and heavy bass. Like the others, these headphones are designed to be very portable – the press release even talks about bringing them “to the club”. Unlike the other headphones, DJ Analog features a removable cable (a feature I appreciate greatly), and have a closed-back design. Further, with the included adapter, these headphones can be used in either a 1/4″ or 1/8″ connection. Adaro DJ Analog is priced at $199.99 USD.

All four Adaro models will be available for pre-order this month, with worldwide availability expected next month. Given their music-focus, I look forward to seeing how well-received this series will be.